The Newsletter of the Integrated Management System of Patients on Surgery Waiting Lists in the Azores (SIGICA) for December, released today, reports that 8,679 received surgery in the Regional Health Service (SRS) in 2019, representing an increase of 8.5% over the previous year.
 
In the last month, 588 patients had surgery in the SRS and the percentage of patients who had surgery within the Maximum Guaranteed Response Time (TMRG) reached 60.5%, above the 53.9% registered in November.
 
Compared to December 2018, there is a reduction of 2.5%in the average waiting time in the Surgery Waiting Lists (LIC), corresponding to 14 days.
 
As of December 31, 2019, the SIGICA registered 12,269 surgical proposals, which represents a growth of 2.5% compared to the same month of the previous year.
 
The number of patients on surgery waiting lists registered a residual increase of 0.7% over the same period of the previous year.
 
Regarding new registrations, the number of entries rose to 794, corresponding to a reduction compared with the month of November, but also in comparison with the month of December 2018, standing at 11.8%.
 
Moreover, there has been a downward trend in the number of surgical proposals at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada, which was registered throughout the second half of 2019  Also of note is the decreasing trend in the number of surgical proposals in SCI at Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo, in Ponta Delgada, which occurred throughout the 2nd half of 2019, contrary to the upward trend registered in the second half of 2018. 
 
The SIGICA Newsletters are available on the Regional Governmental at http://www.azores.gov.pt/Portal/pt/entidades/srs-drs/textoImagem/SIGICA_-_Inicial.htm.